The present invention relates to a device for replenishing solid processing agent used in a light-sensitive material processing apparatus, and particularly to a device for replenishing solid processing agent used in a light-sensitive material processing apparatus wherein prevention of erroneous operation in inserting and removing an accommodating container for solid processing agents and/or easy operation in inserting and removing an accommodating container are improved.
Light-sensitive materials are processed through the steps of developing, desilvering, washing and stabilizing, after exposure. This processing is carried out usually in an automatic processing apparatus wherein a replenisher-replenishing method is generally used to maintain the activeness of a processing solution in a processing tank.
In the case of the replenisher-replenishing method, it object is to dilute substances which have dissolved out of light-sensitive materials, to supplement an amount evaporated, and to replenish an amount consumed, and replenishment of replenishers usually results in discharge of a large amount of overflowed solution.
To process light-sensitive materials on a commercial basis, it is required to obtain stable and excellent processing performance with the smallest possible amount of processing solution for the purposes of reduction of cost and labor, decrease in burden of environmental pollution, miniaturization of a processing apparatus and enhancement of commodity value.
As a method to meet the requirements above, W092/20013 Publication (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,103) discloses a method wherein most components of processing agents are solidified to be solid processing agents which are supplied directly to a processing tank.
However, in the case of using solid processing agents, it is required that various solid processing agents are replenished into a predetermined processing tank correctly and easily. Therefore, it was found that prevention of erroneous operation for avoiding wrong insertion of a solid processing agent accommodating container and a technology for inserting and removing the accommodating container easily are necessary.
The present invention has been attained to solve at least one of the problems mentioned above, and its first object is to provide a device for replenishing solid processing agent used in a light-sensitive material processing apparatus wherein prevention of erroneous operation in inserting and removing an accommodating container for solid processing agents and/or easy operation in inserting and removing an accommodating container are improved.
A solid processing agent requires moisture-proof measures, and there is a fear that dust generated from the solid processing agent scatters and enters other processing tanks, causing deterioration of photographic performance. The present inventors disclose a moisture-proof technology in Japanese Patent Application No. 152127/1993. This technology has been improved to be the technology of the present invention.
The second object of the invention is to provide a device for replenishing solid processing agent used in a light-sensitive material processing apparatus wherein solid processing agents are surely prevented against moisture and stable photographic performance can be obtained through sure operation.
The aforementioned accommodating container is charged in a accommodating container charging section, and then an opening/closing cover is slid on the accommodating container charging section so that an opening thereof is opened and processing agents housed in a main body of the accommodating container are replenished.
Due to the structure wherein the opening/closing cover is slid on the main body of the accommodating container to make an opening, when the opening/closing cover is opened accidentally through careless handling, processing agents leak out of the opening. When the accommodating container falls due to the erroneous handling of an operator, the opening/closing cover is sometimes opened by the falling an processing agents leak out of the opening. Further, when a child instead of the operator mentioned above takes out the stored accommodating container for fun, there is a fear that the opening/closing cover is opened.
For example, therefore, it is considered that the opening/closing cover is sealed in advance after processing agents are housed in the main body of the accommodating container so that the opening/closing cover may not be slid. However, this requires a fob of peeling a seal, which is troublesome. Even when a means other than a seal is used to prevent the sliding of the opening/closing cover, a job to control sliding is required and it is troublesome in handling.
And that, when the opening/closing cover is handled carelessly when it is mounted slidably on an accommodating container charging section of a light-sensitive material processing apparatus, or when the accommodating container is dropped through an erroneous operation of an operator, the opening/closing cover is sometimes opened and processing agents leak.
The accommodating container charging section of the light-sensitive material processing apparatus is under the conditions of high temperature and high humidity, and when the space for the accommodating container charging section is large, an amount of air containing moisture is larger accordingly, affecting processing agents having moisture-absorbing property adversely.
Third object of the invention is to provide an accommodating container wherein the structure for locking an opening/closing cover is simple and no special lock-releasing operation is required, therefore, it is easy to handle, the structure for releasing lock is simple, space for mounting can easily be secured and less space for mounting can lessen moisture-containing air, resulting in an excellent system that processing agents having moisture-absorbing property absorbs less moisture.